Monday, January 11, 2016

Monday's Montage Mantlepiece: Spirit

Summary:
Seeing dead people. Haunting and being haunted. Ghosts and those trying to deal with them add a supernatural flair to these four tales of romance.

In Among the Dead, Neil Gaven sees dead people. A gentle ghost guides him to Trist, who needs his help. But Trist is tormented by spirits, so maybe together they can find a way to live among the dead.

Dei Ex Machina is the story of Sabbio, a Roman slave who was killed 1700 years ago. He’s been alone until he meets landscaper Mason. But because they're separated by centuries, it will take a miracle to make love work.

The Mill brings a supernatural challenge to Frank Carter and his team of paranormal investigators. The owner’s personal psychic, Toby Reese, is supposed to help. Frank doesn't have much respect for psychics, but when the dangers of the old mill threaten his team, he realizes he and Toby will have to work together to survive.

Mike Ellsworth finds himself suddenly deceased. Now he’s a ghost with lots left undone in Unfinished Business. He's never been able to be honest with his wife. He's never been able to tell the man he loves how he feels. He's barely been able to admit he's gay. If only there were a way he could make up for all he’s failed to do….

Stories Included:The Mill by Jamie Fessenden
In 1907, a fire spread through Hawley Mill, taking the lives of ninety-seven workers. The mill was rebuilt, but since its official closing in 1989, construction workers attempting to renovate it have reported strange things happening—mysterious accidents and frightening, inexplicable events. Frank Carter and his team of paranormal investigators have been hired by the mill’s current owner, Mrs. Hawley, to determine if the mill is indeed haunted… and what can be done about it.

On their first night in the mill, Frank’s younger brother, Louis, is severely injured after running from… something. Now Louis is in the hospital and Frank is ready to call off the whole investigation. Then Mrs. Hawley sends in her own personal psychic, Toby Reese, to see what he can do to aid the paranormal team. Frank doesn't have much respect for psychics, but when the dangers of the old mill threaten his team, he realizes he and Toby will have to work together to survive.

Dei Ex Machina by Kim Fielding
Captured young and enslaved by the Romans, Sabbio died while building Diocletian’s palace. For seventeen hundred years he has haunted the city of Split, watching and listening as people pass through the old palace, but he is always alone. One afternoon he spies a handsome but sad man at a café, and Sabbio is intrigued.

Eight months earlier, landscaper Mason Gould’s husband was randomly murdered. In an attempt to comfort him, friends and family take him on a trip to Croatia. A local woman offers to help him contact his husband’s spirit, but they connect to Sabbio instead.

Mason and Sabbio quickly make an emotional connection. But Sabbio is a ghost, and Mason must return to California. For two men centuries apart, it’s going to take a miracle to make love work.

Among the Dead by Eli Easton
Neil Gaven sees dead people. It’s been that way since he suffered head trauma two years ago. Since then Neil has become agoraphobic and works from home, rarely leaving the safety of his apartment. When a gentle ghost named Edward begins to follow Neil and even appear in his home, Neil can’t help but be curious. Edward leads Neil to Trist, a homeless young man Neil had noticed on the streets before. Trist is also tormented by the spirits of the dead. Neil is thrilled to find another human being who shares his gift/curse. Maybe together, Neil and Trist can find a way to live among the dead.

Unfinished Business by B.G. Thomas
Mike Ellsworth was alive and well one minute, and dead the next. Only he’s not really dead—he’s a ghost. One with lots of unfinished business. He’s never told his wife that he has come to accept that he’s gay. He’s never told her that he has a secret lover. He’s never been able to tell his lover that he is in love with him. Now there’s nothing Mike can do about it. And that’s only the beginning! He soon finds out he can help other ghosts leave the spirit world and step into the light. So what’s keeping him stuck on earth? If only there were a way he could make up for all he’s done wrong, and finally do what’s truly right. And maybe, just maybe, there is.

Author Bios:

Jamie Fessenden
Jamie Fessenden set out to be a writer in junior high school. He published a couple short pieces in his high school's literary magazine and had another story place in the top 100 in a national contest, but it wasn't until he met his partner, Erich, almost twenty years later, that he began writing again in earnest. With Erich alternately inspiring and goading him, Jamie wrote several screenplays and directed a few of them as micro-budget independent films. He then began writing novels and published his first novella in 2010.

After nine years together, Jamie and Erich have married and purchased a house together in the wilds of Raymond, New Hampshire, where there are no street lights, turkeys and deer wander through their yard, and coyotes serenade them on a nightly basis. Jamie recently left his "day job" as a tech support analyst to be a full-time writer.

Kim Fielding
Kim Fielding lives in California and travels as often as she can manage. A professor by day, at night she rushes into a phonebooth to change into her author costume (which involves comfy clothes instead of Spandex and is, sadly, lacking a cape). Her superpowers include the ability to write nearly anywhere, often while simultaneously doling out homework assistance to her children. Her favorite word to describe herself is "eclectic" and she finally got that third tattoo.

All royalties from her novels Stasis, Flux and Equipoise are donated to Doctors Without Borders.

Eli Easton
Having been, at various times, and under different names, a minister’s daughter, a computer programmer, a game designer, the author of paranormal mysteries, a fan fiction writer, an organic farmer, an avid hiker and a profound sleeper, Eli is happily embarking on yet another incarnation as a m/m romance author.

As an addicted reader of such, she is tinkled pink when an author manages to combine literary merit, vast stores of humor, melting hotness and eye-dabbing sweetness into one story. She promises to strive to achieve most of that most of the time. She currently lives on a farm in Pennsylvania with her husband, three bulldogs, three cows and six chickens. All of them (except for the husband) are female, hence explaining the naked men that have taken up residence in her latest fiction writing.

BG Thomas
B.G. Thomas lives in Kansas City with his husband for nearly fifteen years and was legally married in 2014. Ehey have a fabulous little dog, Sarah Jane. He sees his wonderful daughter just often enough to miss her when she isn't there! He has a romantic soul and is extraordinarily lucky to have many friends.

He loves science fiction & fantasy, horror, romance and more, has gone to SF&F conventions his entire adult life, and been lucky enough to meet many of his favorite writers. He is a “Star Trek” and Joss Whedon fan from way back!

He has written all his life, it is where he finds his joy. In the 90’s, he wrote for gay magazines, but stopped because they wanted him to cut out story and romance, and write only sex.

Then through a few friends, he discovered the growing market of M/M Romance and was thrilled beyond words. FINALLY, a way to write the stories he always wanted to write. Adventure, romantic comedy, science fiction, and more, but with gay characters. And he wouldn't have to fade to black! People wanted to read the erotic as well. Plot and sex! HURRAY!

B.G. Thomas very much believes in The Law of Attraction and that "thoughts become things." A lot of things all started happening at once. He heard the words, "Leap, and the net will appear," and something re-kindled inside. He sent out a story and was thrilled when it was almost immediately accepted.

He believes that we are divine expressions of the Universe, each and everyone. "It is never too late!,” he states. “Pursue your dreams! They will come true!"

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